 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Birch
Date: 2002-06-29 08:50
I am not a classical clarinettist, and I play very wide open mouthpieces. Presently I am playing a Selmer H, with a tip opening of 1.60, and it works very well for me.
The problem is that at a very young age (before I got into wide tip openings) I got hooked on crystal mouthpieces. The penetration and clarity of the material is something that I have sorely missed every since I 'outgrew' my old Selmer U.S.A. #3, which is so closed that I can hardly even play it any more.
I am wondering if anyone out there knows of someone who is making extremely open mouthpieces out of crystal, or of someone who can custom manufactor a crystal mouthpiece.
Thank you,
--Birch
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2002-06-29 15:02
Check the cl mp sections and comparison charts in the catalogs, they should show who makes the wider ones. My OLD O'Brien shipping tube shows their tips up to #5, I generally dont go beyond #3's or similar Sel Clarion, Pomaricos and custom facings by Dave S and Manfredo Cavallini of Italy [suggest looking them up!]. Don
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Author: Robert Small
Date: 2002-06-29 19:24
RIA makes a crystal piece with a .059" tip (about 1.53mm) which is close to the Selmer H. I like RIA bari sax pieces but haven't played their clarinet pieces (I use a Ralph Morgan J7 which is a killer piece). I've heard mixed reports about quality but there are craftsmen who can finish and tweak crystal pieces. Clarinet Bulletin Board regular Dave Spiegelthal works on crystal pieces I believe.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2002-06-29 21:15
Yes, in my WW/BW chart the RIA 3 is the ONLY one in the 59 column, the Pomarico 3 [Diamond, now?] is in 53, both quite wide open!! Also yes, Dave "opened-up" a bass cl glass [GG 1, Pom?] mp for me, its VG! Don
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Author: John Scorgie
Date: 2002-07-01 04:37
Birch --
My .02 worth on the O'Briens:
As noted above, the #5 was indeed the most open O'Brien crystal mpce. They went from #1 to #5 with the OB* in the middle.
I played #3 and #5 O'Brien crystals ~ 40 years ago and obtained them directly from Lowell O'Brien. The #1 was, for me, so short and close as to be unplayable. The #2 was also very close. The OB* was about like a Selmer HS*. The #3 was ~1.05mm to 1.10 mm tip. The #5 (most open) was ~1.20 or 1.25 mm, but certainly not anything like the 1.50 or 1.60 mm you are looking for. All of the O'Brien crystals were shorter lay than is typical today.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2002-07-04 03:22
super20dan...You probably already know, (or perhaps not) that Vandoren crystal mouthpieces are no longer being produced. Any that are still being sold by dealers are old leftover stock that has probably been picked over.
I went through about 30 Vandoren crystals to find the 2 that were superb, and 2 that are passable back ups. The remaining ones all had facing problems, probably due to the lack of control of the material during production. The two that were selected that day (almost 30 years ago), are still my primary mouthpieces.
Today, with the odds against you find a superb one at chance, any Vandoren crystal that is being sold privately should carry a return option. If not...pass...GBK
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Author: connie
Date: 2002-07-04 15:37
I was under the impression that Pomarico took over the old Vandoren line of crystals. I have a vandoren A3 which I really like. Very similar to it is the Pete Fountain crystal, if not at WW/BW then maybe International Music carries it. Also, Phil Muncy at Muncy winds has been very helpful to me in picking out mouthpieces for both clarinet and sax.
connie
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